Beyoncé says 'No, No, No!' to photogs

Taking image control matters into her own, very well-manicured hands, the pop superstar bans photographers from her ongoing concert tour.

This undated promotional image released by H&M shows entertainer Beyonce in an ad for H&M's new summer advertising campaign. Beyonce will be featured on billboards, and in print ads and TV commercials. (AP Photo/H&M)
— AP

This undated promotional image released by H&M shows entertainer Beyonce in an ad for H&M's new summer advertising campaign. Beyonce will be featured on billboards, and in print ads and TV commercials. (AP Photo/H&M)
/ AP

In 2011, Beyoncé recorded "Best Thing I Never Had." Now, that song may become the new theme for the many photographers hoping to shoot pictures of the glamorous pop-music superstar in action on stage.

In an act of image-control fitting of a woman whose repertoire also includes "Diva," "Ego,""Me, Myself & I," "Are You Filming Me With That?" and "No, No, No, Part 2," Beyoncé has decided to ban all professional photographers from her ongoing "The Mrs. Carter Show World Concert Tour." (Mr. Carter, of course, is her husband, Jay-Z.)

Beyoncé commercial

Instead, she has hired a lone shooter -- take a bow, Frank Micelotta! -- to be the "official tour" photographer on her global concert trek, which kicked off April 15 in Europe and opens its U.S. leg June 28 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Micelotta will take pictures of Beyoncé at each show. Those pictures will then be distributed to media outlets after each tour stop.

Since her meticulously choreographed concerts are identical each night in song order, costume sequence and virtually every carefully rehearsed stage movement, a cynic might wonder how anyone could tell which concert which photo by Micelotta is from. But enough about me.

The reason for Beyoncé's photo ban stems from her performance earlier this year during the Super Bowl halftime show. Apparently, she was unhappy with some photos, which caught her grimacing or striking unflattering poses. Her annoyance grew when many of those same shots swamped the internet.

In February, her publicist requested that a website remove its unflattering Super Bowl photos of Beyoncé. That -- surprise! -- did not happen.

The solution, on her current tour, is simple: Don't issue any photo credentials to the media at all.

For the record, Beyoncé is hardly the first artist to take such an action.

For many years now, Bob Dylan has rarely allowed photographers at his concerts. But that's largely because he doesn't want them distracting from his music or from his fans' enjoyment.

When Barbra Streisand launched her first comeback tour back in the last century, photographers were granted the first minute of her first song to shoot their pictures, after which they were escorted out. (The industry norm at concerts for photographers is usually the first three songs.)

Wlll Beyoncé's plan work? Will media outlets use only the images she approves taken by her self-appointed tour photographer? Or will the media pay fans in the front rows for the photos they shoot of her on their phones?

One option is to not run any photos of Beyoncé with reviews of her concerts -- a move that could lead her to reconsider. Or not.

What do you think? Is Beyoncé justified? Or is she taking herself (and her image) too seriously?